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Log for September 12-13 – Training for Bank of America Chicago Marathon on October 9th. Goal for the fall and winter marathon season is to break 3:15 for the first time.
Monday
- 7-Mile Trail Run – It had been a couple of weeks since my last trail run, so it was good to get back out there today with Paxton on the White + Red trails at Percy Warner Park. The temps are much cooler, and this made for a very enjoyable run. We kept the pace pretty relaxed throughout, but I could tell a huge difference in my ability to breathe while going up some of the steeper inclines. On a normal trail run during the summer it was common for us to take a quick break at the top of some of the more extreme slopes, but today we just kept going with only one bathroom break and one stop when my shoe came untied. Not bad after a 20-mile marathon workout on Saturday, and not bad on a 7-mile course with over 1,400 ft of elevation gain. Great run.
- Cross Training – Tonight was P90X: Ab-Ripper X with Olivia and then P90X: Shoulders and Arms.
Tuesday
- 10-Mile Tempo Run – My training schedule originally called for a 9-mile tempo run today at goal marathon pace (7:26). However, with the hard marathon workout on Saturday (which included almost 15 miles at or below goal marathon pace), I knew that doing another marathon pace workout so soon would likely do more harm than good. With that in mind, I decided to dial it back just a bit today and bump the mileage up to 10.
Nathan, Paxton and I ended up running out and back on Old Natchez and Del Rio. We started off fairly easy through the hilly section with a 9:05 first mile. After this, we picked up considerably for the next three miles with times of 8:07, 8:02, and 7:43. Just before the end of mile 4, we stopped for a hydration break and Paxton decided to head back early due to some discomfort in his calf muscle.
Nathan and I continued on down Old Natchez and then onto Del Rio for the next two miles with times of 7:56 and 7:58. After another quick hydration break, we finished out the run strong with miles of 7:25, 7:37, 7:42 (back in the hilly section), and 6:53 for a total of 10-miles with an average pace of 7:50.
My legs felt really good today, and at no point (except the very, very end) did the pace feel fast or out of control. My average heart rate was 151 for the run, and it only got as high as 171 even at the end. I’m starting to feel more and more confident about Chicago, though the butterflies are also starting creep in as the race gets closer.
- Injury Update – Quick update on my “freak” back injury from tripping while turning off my alarm in the dark on Saturday morning. I’m lucky that it doesn’t really affect my running motion, but it is a constant aggravation that seems to get worse after a run and throughout the day. Sometimes it is just really sore. Other times it goes into spasm. There is now a visible bruise where I hit the chair when I fell. I’m not sure how well it is going to heal as I continue to run, but have no plans to cut back on training unless it gets to the point where it affects the mechanics of my run.
Log for September 10-11 – Training for Bank of America Chicago Marathon on October 9th. Goal for the fall and winter marathon season is to break 3:15 for the first time.
Saturday
- Freak Injury – When my alarm went off at 4:30am this morning I tripped over a table as I was going to turn off the alarm on my dresser. This caused me to fall very hard and hit the middle of back against a chair. I knew immediately that my back was hurt, but at that point it just felt like a “catch” and really didn’t affect my movement. It was an annoyance during the marathon workout described below, but really didn’t affect my running. However, after the workout it began to spasm and continued to get worse throughout the day. I’m fortune that it’s my mid back and not lower back. So far this training season my two worst injuries have come getting out of bed and playing with my daughter on the playground. Go figure.
- 20.25-Mile Marathon Workout – I honestly believe this was (on paper) the most difficult bi-weekly marathon workout we have done as a group over the past three years. I don’t say this as a criticism at all, because I also think it was the best designed workout and the best marathon simulation we have ever done. Hats off to Dan Ashmead for putting all of our workouts together this year. They have been fantastic.
The workout started at 6am, but Nathan I got there about 30 minutes early to get in a couple of extra warmup miles before the start. After the group arrived, we did another couple of easy miles around the lake outside of the Shelby Bottoms Greenway. My total warmup was 4 miles at 9:41 average pace.After the warmup Dan began going over the workout and emphasized that everything we were doing was all about the last 20 minutes. The workout was designed so that the last 20 minute interval would simulate the fatigue one would feel at the end of a marathon. With that in mind, our first set consisted of 2 x 10 minute intervals that were to be done at 20 to 30 seconds faster than goal marathon pace (7:26). From the beginning of these intervals, I felt fantastic. My average pace was 6:58 for the first interval, and 6:49 for the second interval (2.91 miles).
Our second set was 30 minutes at goal marathon pace. Again I felt really good even after the hard effort in the first set. My pace on the first 15 minutes was right at 7:26, but I sped up a little in the second half for an overall average of 7:23 (4.07 miles).
For the third set, we slowly jogged over to a hilly area for 5 x 30 second hill repeats. These were intended to further fatigue our legs as we worked toward that last 20 minute interval. These were pretty difficult, but I still felt strong. After the last repeat, we ran easy for just over 10 minutes. The totals for this set including hill repeats and the easy run were 2.22 miles at 9:08 average pace.
The fourth set was another 30 minutes at goal marathon pace. By this point my legs were beginning to feel pretty fatigued, but I still felt really good during the interval. For the first 15 minutes my pace was right at 7:26, but I picked it up quite a bit for the second half for an overall average of 7:21 (4.09 miles).
Our final set was the infamous “final 20 minutes” which were to be done at a pace 20 to 30 seconds faster than goal marathon pace. Just before the interval Dan said “my legs feel like lead,” and that exactly described how I was feeling as well. I knew that I had pushed it a little too hard during the fourth set and would have to pay the piper.
As we started I noticed that my legs were beginning to feel exactly like they do in the closing miles of a marathon. My mind was focused on this….I knew that up until that point in the workout I had hit or exceeded the designed paces in every repeat. Now all I had to do was finish this last set at a pace faster than goal marathon pace. No need to blow it out of the box….No need to be a hero….Just needed to finish strong with a consistent pace.
I ran with Paxton for most of the first mile, but he was pushing just a little harder that I wanted to go, so I let him ease away. My legs were SCREAMING, but I kept going. At the 10 minute mark, my pace was just over 7:00 minutes, and shortly thereafter Nathan and Susan passed me. I tried to remain consistent even though everything in my body was telling me to stop. At the 15 minute mark my average pace had dropped to 7:08 and I resolved that even on tired legs I was going to finish strong. Over the last 5 minutes I dropped my overall average back down to 7:04, with a total distance of 2.83 miles.
I was completely exhausted, but what a huge confidence boost to stay consistent throughout the workout and finish strong even with shredded legs. My overall totals were 20.25 miles completed at 7:55 average pace (this includes warmup miles). I know that 3:15 is still going to be a HUGE mountain to climb this fall / winter, but workouts like these give me confidence that it IS possible.
- Cross Training – I did a partial set of P90X: Ab-Ripper X with Olivia, but was not able to finish because of my back injury. I also did 4 sets of pushups.
Sunday
- Rest – Since I missed running Thursday, I briefly toyed with the idea of breaking my normally scheduled rest day and going out for a recovery run. However with the hard workout on Saturday and my middle back injury I decided not to push it and give myself one more day to recover.
Log for September 7-9 – Training for Bank of America Chicago Marathon on October 9th. Goal for the fall and winter marathon season is to break 3:15 for the first time.
Wednesday
- 5.25-Mile Recovery Run – Paxton and I ran the standard Nature Center loop this morning as a recovery from our tempo run on Tuesday. Even though it was a recovery run, we ran it like a slower progression run getting faster every mile. Our splits for the 5 miles were 9:37, 9:08, 9:05, 8:52, 8:18. The temps were still cooler, but not rainy and windy like Tuesday. All-in-all it was a good recovery run.
Thursday
- Rest – Even though this was not a scheduled rest day, running was just not an option. I had to leave my house at 6am this morning to catch a flight to NYC for work. After finishing our meetings in mid-afternoon, I headed out to Flushing Meadows (Queens) for the US Open tennis tournament. I got there too late to get in for the remainder of the day session, so decided to hang around for the night session which started at 7pm. Unfortunately play was suspended for rain between Federer and Tsonga after only 5 games. The rain delay lasted over 1 1/2 hours which meant I didn’t get back to my hotel until 12:30am. Fun night, but made for a very long day.
Friday
- 4-Mile “Barefoot” Run – After getting home from NYC around 8:00pm, I went out for an easy-paced run through Bellevue in my Saucony Hattoris. After taking Thursday off, my legs feel really fresh. This along with cooler temps made for an enjoyable run. However, It was weird to do my normal 4-mile Friday loop without Paxton. Now need to get some sleep to be ready for our 20-mile marathon workout in the morning.
Log for September 5-6 – Training for Bank of America Chicago Marathon on October 9th. Goal for the fall and winter marathon season is to break 3:15 for the first time.
Monday
- Crash – One day removed from the Tupelo 14.2, I took Labor Day as a rest day. I didn’t even set my alarm, and my awesome wife got up with the kids and let me sleep-in. Without an alarm or kids to wake me up I slept till NOON! Other than days when I’m sick, I can’t remember a time in the last 10 years where I’ve slept till noon. I guess it’s obvious that my body needed it. I also ended up taking a nap in the late afternoon while Sara was asleep. It is nice to feel rested and refreshed.
- Cross-Training – Even though it was a day of mostly rest, Olivia and I did one set of P90X: Ab-Ripper X.
Tuesday
- 7.25-Mile Tempo Run – The remnants of tropical storm “Lee” have brought much cooler weather to Middle Tennessee. At 6am this morning it was in the mid 50s with steady rain and wind. Tuesday is normally my tempo day, but didn’t know if this type of pace was possible only two days after a race. I started at the PW Park gates with Nathan and Paxton, and told them I’d let them go if I needed to take it easy. The plan was to do two loops with a stop back at the cars in-between for some fluids. I stayed with them for most of the first two miles, but after that I started to fall back as my legs were feeling a little heavy. I also cut off the route a little shorter than they did for a pit stop at the golf course. My first four miles ended up being 8:39, 8:21, 8:13, and 8:11.
I ended up meeting them back at the cars, and we decided to run the second loop down and back Belle Meade Boulevard. Even though my legs felt heavy for the first loop, they felt GREAT for the second loop, and I began to pick up the pace. My last three miles were 7:41, 7:01, and 6:11. It was like the cooler temps had taken the shackles off of my heart and lungs, and I felt like I could run as fast as I wanted. I know that Nathan and Paxton thought I was crazy, and honestly it probably was to run a 6:11 final mile. Regardless, it felt really good to run fast, and it was a big confidence boost to know how much more speed is there when the temperatures are lower.
- No cross training tonight, as Olivia and I celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary with a nice dinner at the Stockyard, followed by coffee at Starbucks.
My thoughts on the 28th annual Tupelo Marathon and 14.2-Miler in Tupelo, MS
Tupelo Marathon and 14.2 Miler
September 4, 2011
tupelorunningclub.homestead.com/tupelomarathon.html
My Run: Trample the Weak…Hurdle the Dead! Overall, the Tupelo 14.2 miler is my 9th half marathon (even if this one was a little more than half a marathon). I decided to participate this year for two reasons: (1) It was highly recommended by a number of friends from my running group who participated last year (2) it seemed like the perfect tune-up to the Chicago Marathon which is in five weeks.
Log for September 2-4 – Training for Bank of America Chicago Marathon on October 9th. Goal for the fall and winter marathon season is to break 3:15 for the first time.
Have not posted a log since my awful track workout last Thursday. Just wanted to step away for a few days and not think about training plans, workouts, etc. Now that the Tupelo 14.2 race is behind me, I’m ready to get back on task toward Chicago.
Friday
- 4-Mile Recovery Run – After feeling terrible during the track workout on Thursday night, Paxton and I ran our usual 4-mile loop through Bellevue at an easy pace. I normally do these Friday runs in my Hattoris, but wanted to take extra care not to put more stress on my feet with race coming up on Sunday. We ended up picking up the pace a little for the final 2 miles, to finish with an average of 8:31 per mile. This is a little faster than our normal shakeout runs, but actually felt pretty good. Nice to feel good after an abysmal track workout.
Saturday
- Rest – Saturday was a travel day as we made our way down to Tupelo for the Race on Sunday. No running or cross training today, and tried to stay off of my feet as much as possible.
Sunday
- 14.2-Mile Race + 3.6-Mile Warmup & Cooldown – I intend to post a full race report for the Tupelo 14.2-miler in a couple of days, so this will be a brief post. The race started at 5am, so at 3:45am I started what ended up as a 1.6 mile warmup. This included a steady run which started at easy pace and ended at race pace. It also included 6 x 100m stride-outs about 15 minutes before the start of the race. Since this was a Chicago tune-up race, my goal coming in was to finish with an average right around my goal marathon pace (7:26). However, race-day weather cause me to re-evaluate this. It was 81 degrees at 5:00am, with high humidity. I was able to handle the temps fairly well for the first 9 miles, but after that the heat really started to get to me, and I was never able to pick up the pace at the end as intended.
I finished with an overall average of 7:36 which I feel pretty good about considering the conditions. Jeff Galloway says that when temps are between 75 and 80, you should expect a 12% reduction in pace. For a goal pace of 7:26, this would add an additional 53 seconds (8:19). Considering this, I’ll take 7:36 all day long. My finish was good enough for 12th overall (11th overall male), and 2nd in my age group (30 to 39).
After most of our group had finished we did 2 really, really slow shakeout miles. It was hard to get moving again, but my legs felt much better after we finished than when we started.
